The Most Reverend Edward Gerhard Hettinger, D.D.

Edward Gerhard Hettinger was born October 14, 1902, one of five children of Edward and Clara O'Brien Hettinger in Lancaster, Ohio. His father was a saloon keeper. He attended St. Mary Elementary and High schools in Lancaster. He attended Holy Cross College in Worcester, Massachusetts, and studied theology at St. Vincent Abbey in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.

Edward was ordained to the Roman Catholic priesthood June 2, 1928, by Bishop James J. Hartley. His first assignment was the chaplaincy at St. Anne's Maternity Hospital in Columbus. He also served as administrator of St. Mary Parish, Delaware, Ohio, during that time. He then served as Chaplain of St. Vincent Orphanage and Administrator of St. Margaret of Cortona Parish until 1945. Beginning in 1929, Fr. Hettinger was Director of Cemeteries and served as Chancellor of the Diocese of Columbus from 1938 to 1942. He was named a Monsignor in 1938 by Pope Pius XII.

Msgr. Hettinger was named Auxiliary Bishop of Columbus and Titular Bishop of Teos by Pope Pius XII on December 9, 1941. Bishop Hettinger was consecrated at St. Joseph Cathedral on February 24, 1942 by Bishop Hartley.

A humble and prayerful man, Bishop Hettinger served as the Diocese's auxiliary under six different Bishops: Hartley, Ready, Issenmann, Carberry, Elwell, and Herrmann, always shunning honors and preference. He was named diocesan Vicar General in 1945 by Bishop Ready, an appointment that was renewed under subsequent bishops. In 1946 he was named a Consultor, a position he served until his retirement. Bishop Hettinger served as diocesan administrator five times when the see was vacant because of the death or transfer of its ordinary. From 1959 to 1964 he was Vice President of the Diocesan School Board, and beginning in 1960, he was a member of the Board of Trustees of St. Charles Seminary.

Bishop Hettinger resigned as Auxiliary of Columbus on his 75th birthday, October 14, 1977. He continued as pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Columbus until 1978. He then retired to a modest cottage in Zaleski, Ohio, where he enjoyed nature, walking, and daily Mass at St. Sylvester Parish in Zaleski. He also acted as a chaplain to the Sisters of St. Francis who ran the St. Francis Center in McArthur, Ohio. In 1994 he took up residence at the Convalarium at Indian Run in Dublin, Ohio.

Bishop Hettinger passed away December 28, 1996, on the Feast of the Holy Innocents. He was buried in St. Mary Parish Cemetery, Lancaster, next to Father Pilger, who baptized him.